得享亨通
江桂英 传道
经文:箴言28:13,王下18:5-7
从这两处经文我们都可以看到“亨通”二字,这是每个人都喜欢的。那么,怎样才能得享亨通呢?我们从以下三个方面来一同分享。
一、认罪悔改
箴28:13告诉我们:“遮掩自己罪过的,必不亨通;”可见罪是亨通的阻拦。我们从圣经中也看到遮掩自己罪过的人结局必不亨通。徒5:1-11记载,在使徒时代,凡物公用,人人都将田产房屋卖了,把所卖的价银拿来,放在使徒脚前,由使徒来支配使用。然而,亚拿尼亚夫妇却将所卖田产的价银私自留下几分,在使徒的追问下,他们仍然遮掩自己的罪,他们的结局是死亡。所以遮掩自己罪过的必不亨通。主耶稣曾教导我们:“你在祭坛上献礼物的时候,若想起弟兄向你怀怨,就把礼物留在坛前,先去同弟兄和好,然后来献礼物。”(参太5:23-24)求神光照我们,让我们一同在神面前认罪悔改。神是信实的、公义的,必要赦免我们的罪,洗净我们一切的不义(参约壹1:9)。
我们知道神是慈爱的,但也是威严的,他断不以有罪的为无罪。所以认罪、在神面前倒空自己,是基督徒生活所不可缺少的。我们若要想蒙神喜悦,得享亨通,就要求神赦免我们各样显而易见和隐而未见的罪。罪叫人心变刚硬,也会引来撒旦的控告和攻击。罪在人里面,生命不能长进,并缺少神的恩典和能力。罪使人的道路无法亨通,只有完全认罪悔改才能得享亨通。
二、专心靠神
要得享亨通,就要专心依靠神。从圣经中我们可以看到:雅各虽是个有信心的人,但在毗努伊勒之前,他还不是个专心依靠神的人。他用投机取巧的办法,骗取了长子的名分和祝福,结果他的哥哥对他怀恨在心要追杀他,雅各不得不离家出走,逃到舅舅家。在舅舅家,他仍然与舅舅拉班明争暗斗,最后失去舅舅的欢心,只好带着全家人逃回迦南地。在路上听说他哥哥以扫带着四百人迎面走来,他又是靠自己的“聪明”将妻子、儿女分成两队连夜送过雅博渡口。直到神的使者与他摔跤,使他的大腿瘸了为止,他才完全懂得依靠神。
雅各从前不专心依靠神,这给他带来的是不安宁,不得亨通。而希西家王专心依靠耶和华神,所以圣经中说神使他处处亨通。王下18:3-4记载:希西家王行耶和华眼中看为正的事,他废去邱坛,毁坏柱橡,砍下木偶,打碎摩西所造的铜蛇(那时的人将铜蛇当成偶像来敬拜)。我们今天要想更好地敬拜神,也必须将偶像消除干净。专心靠主。有形的偶像除去了,是否还有无形的偶像在我们的心中占据了主的位置?我们是否爱这世界胜过爱主?主耶稣曾说“你们爱我若不胜过爱自己的妻子、儿女、父母、房屋就不配作我的门徒。”所以我们当清除心中的偶像,专一来信靠神,神必使我们得享亨通,就如当年摩西专心依靠神,才得以带领以色列百姓出埃及过红海。
三、遵行神旨
王下18:6-7给我们看到希西家王因敬畏神、遵行神旨、谨守耶和华所吩咐摩西的诫命,神就与他同在,使他无论往何处尽都亨通。王下5:1-19记载:亚兰王的元帅乃缦长了大麻风,他照着神人的话,在约旦河沐浴七回,他的麻风病得洁净。马利亚(耶稣的母亲)婚前因圣灵感孕,在人看来是要按律法处置的,但因她遵行的是神的旨意,耶和华使她得享亨通,一家人的性命都得以保存,她也成为万代有福的人。相反,我们若不遵行神的话,就如约拿一样必会受到很多的挫折,不得亨通。
书1:8记载:“这律法书不可离开你的口,总要昼夜思想,好使你谨守遵行这书上所写的一切话。如此,你的道路就可以亨通,凡事顺利。” 今天我们若谨守遵行神的话,神必引导我们行在亨通的路上。神的话是大有能力的,是安定在天的。它是我们脚前的灯,路上的光。
弟兄姐妹,让我们一同作个在主里得享亨通的人,同蒙神的恩典和祝福!
How To Obtain Prosperity
By Rev. Jiang Guiying
Bible Verse Reading: Proverbs 28: 13, 2 Kings 18: 5- 7
We read the word "prosper" from these verses. Everyone likes to prosper. But how? Following are three aspects I'd like to share with you.
1. To admit our sin and repent.
Proverbs 28:13 says, "No one who conceals transgressions will prosper." Obviously, our sin prevents us from being prosperous. The Bible shows us that anyone who conceals their sin won't prosper. According to Acts 5: 1-11, during the apostles' times everything was held in common. The whole group of those who believed sold their lands and houses and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. But Ananias and his wife kept back some of the proceeds and they concealed their sin even after the apostle's questioning. What awaited them was death. In a word, those who conceal their sin won't prosper. Our Lord Jesus tells us "when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. (Matthew 5: 23-24) May the Lord show His grace to us so that we will admit our sin and repent before Him. God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
We know God is both kind and awe-inspiring. He will never take the sinful as sinless. Therefore it is necessary for us, the Christians, to empty ourselves and admit our sin before God. We should beg our God to forgive us all our sins if we want to please Him and prosper. Sin makes us hard-hearted and lures Satan to charge against us and attack us. When one lives in sin, he will not have any growth in his spiritual life, nor will he have God's grace or ability. Only when one admit their sin and repent will they prosper.
2. To depend on God whole-heartedly.
To prosper, we must depend on God with all our heart. We can see from the Bible that though Jacob had faith, he did not rely on God whole-heartedly before he wrestled at Peniel. He gained birthright and blessing by cheating Esau and Isaac, which resulted in his brother's resenting him and in his desire of taking Jacob's life. Jacob had to leave home and ran away to his uncle's home. But he had open and veiled conflicts with his uncle and lost his uncle's favor. So he had to take his whole family back to Canaan. He heard about Esau's leading 400 people to him, and again, with his own "wit", he divided the group into two teams and they crossed the ford of Jabbok that very night. He did not know he should depend on the Lord until he wrestled with God's messenger and became limp.
Jacob did not have peace and could not prosper in the past because he did not rely on God whole-heartedly. On the contrary, Hezekiah depended on God whole-heartedly, and wherever he went, he prospered. According to 2 Kings, Hezekiah did what was right in the sight of the Lord. He removed the high places, broke down the pillars, and cut down the sacred pole. He broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days people still worshipped it. To worship God, we must clear up all the idols. When the visible idols were done away with, do we have the invisible idols taking up the Lord's place in our heart? Do we love the world more than we love the Lord? Jesus once said, "Whoever does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple." Moses depended on God whole-heartedly, which enabled him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and across the Red Sea.
3. To follow God's Word.
2 Kings 18: 6- 7 shows us that God was with Hezekiah and made him prosper wherever he went because he feared God and followed His Word, and obeyed the commandments He had told Moses. 2 King 5: 1-19 records that Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, suffered from leprosy. He followed the word of the man of God and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, and he was clean. Mary (Jesus' mother) conceived a son from the Holy Spirit before marriage. In human's mind, she was to be punished by law. But God made her prosper because she followed God's will. Her family was protected and she became a woman of blessing through all generations. On the other hand, if we don't follow God, we will experience a lot of frustrations like Jonah and will not prosper.
Joshua 1: 8 records that "This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to act in accordance with all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall be successful." God is sure to lead us to the prosperous way if we obey and follow His word. God's word is greatly empowered and His word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.
May the grace and blessing of God is with us and that we will obtain prosperity in the Lord!
(根据录音整理)